My Playhouse
Oh how, I miss my playhouse, the gym. Since I started classes six weeks ago, working out has not been a priority. I think I’ve worked out maybe four times. Surely, exercise goes beyond the gym I know that. I do workout in my Exercise Techniques class and I walk the campus at a brisk pace, but it’s still not the same.
The walls of 24-Hour Fitness Columbia Tech Center is where I’ve turned a lot of negative into tons of positive. I learned a lot about myself in the very walls of that gym. I found myself in some compromising positions in boot camp, cycling, Yoga, and even Zumba. Sweating. Panting. Being pushed to the limit. Training with Steve always is a good time, but it’s not easy work. He asks me to do things I would never do on my own. He’s right there telling me, I can, when I’m on the brink of giving in to fatigue, embarrassment, or both.
For me working out has become a major part of my life. I’m the gal who typically works out five to six times a week. I’m the gal who three weeks after having a metal plate with 14 screws inserted in her leg to reattach the tibia was at the gym doing upper body workouts. I’m the gal at 294 lbs. who stood at the front of the room her very first time in Zumba class. I’m the gal who graces the wall of 24 Hour Fitness as a Member Success Story. I’m the gal who gets it in — no matter. What happened to that gal? She still exist she’s just dormant right now. I just can’t DO everything. There’s only 24 hours in a day. I do what I can — I watch my diet. Like, Steve, says it doesn’t matter what I do at the gym, but it does matter what I eat. So I’ve made sure that during this weeks I’ve buttoned up my nutrition.
I’ve met some wonderful like-minded people at the gym. I’ve even received emails over the last few weeks from some of them saying they miss me — totally cool. The gym is so much more to me than just a place to workout. It’s a place where I go to connect. A place I go to have fun, hang out, and get my workout on. I miss sweating, pushing my limits, and chatting it up with my gym buddies. I’m starting to have some major withdrawals. I’ll make my way back to my playhouse soon, real soon. Until then…hold it down for me y’all.
Chrisetta Mosley
I am a product – and now a survivor – of childhood obesity. As a child, my family always told me that my extra weight was merely baby fat and I’d eventually grow out of it. I never did. Instead, my childhood is filled with memories of not being able to ride a bike, flattening its training wheels from being over the recommended weight, and avoiding P.E. classes by any means necessary. For years, I wore my fatness like a wounded soldier wears a Purple Heart - with pride. I owned the look. I dressed it up. I worked the room. There wasn't a skinny girl who intimidated me. I made sure my hair was laid just right. Nails polished. Outfits coordinated to the tee. Accessories to compliment every outfit. But everyone has a breaking point, and mine came in the spring of 2004 when I tipped the scale at nearly 400 pounds 388 to be exact. I was MISERABLE trapped inside of that body. I no longer wore my Purple Heart with pride. Rather, I was ashamed and frightened. Ashamed that I had allowed food to become my everything – frightened I would die because of it. Drastic times called for drastic measures... Today, I’m bound and determined to live a better, healthier, active lifestyle. I realize I’m no longer a passenger in my life, I’m the driver. I’m overcoming my inhibitions and I’m slowly but surely saying farewell to my old childhood nemesis, obesity. For once and for all, Farewell Fatso!